Not long before World Tiger Day, Thailand delivered some good news about the big cats. In the country’s Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), which covers 18,000 square kilometers and includes 11 national parks and six nature reserves, it is estimated that between 2007 and 2023, the number of tigers more than tripled, so their number jumped from 41 to 143, he writes. CNN.
The remarkable result was observed in a new joint study led by Thailand’s Department of National Parks (DNP) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The study was published online in the scientific journal Global Ecology and Conservation.
More good news is that it’s not just the tigers that have returned. A study published alongside the tiger assessment found that populations of endangered ungulates, such as deer and tulki, which are the tigers’ main prey, have also doubled in the Huai Kha Khaeng Game Reserve, one of three protected areas in the forest complex in Thung Yai East (TYE ) and next to Thung Yai West.
Pornkamol Jornburom, director of WCS Thailand and one of the wildlife biologists working on the new study, reported that the significant increase reflects “more effective management” of the forest and is the result of nearly two decades of conservation interventions.
“This forest complex is home to many endangered species,” said Jornburom, who hopes WEFCOM “can be a role model for wildlife conservation and restoration.”
A roaring success
Pornkamol Jornburom has been working on conservation projects at WEFCOM since 2005. He reported that dramatic changes had taken place before his eyes since then.
One of the biggest threats to the area’s wildlife is poaching, which can best be combated by patrolling. According to Jornburom, the number of patrols in 2005 was limited and not systematic. In addition, as he said, the rangers “only reported verbally to their leaders, so no data was collected or recorded.”
When we protect tigers, it actually leads to the preservation of many other species: not only the prey animals, but also the habitat
Pornkamol Jornburom said.
WEFCOM – which is the largest forest area in Thailand and the largest forest trail in continental Southeast Asia – is an extremely important habitat not only for tigers, but also for endangered animals such as Asian elephants, stag beetles and bantengs. The diversity of species in the complex is also enormous: 150 mammals, 490 birds and 90 reptiles live here.
Most tiger conservation programs focus on protecting small, isolated areas, but WEFCOM connects several national parks and protected areas through extensive forest corridors. This is vital for tigers, which require a living space of up to 300 square kilometers.
According to Jornburom, DNP has begun working with WCS to “build and strengthen on-site protections.” Patrol teams began using GPS to pinpoint locations, and a standardized reporting form for data collection helped identify patrol routes, wildlife distribution, and locations of illegal activity.
In 2007, conservationists deployed camera traps that collected a dataset that researchers used in the current study for their population survey of the three main protected areas. Individual tigers can be identified by their unique stripes, similar to a human fingerprint.
According to Jornburom, the 250 percent increase in the number of tigers and the two-fold increase in the number of banteng and antelope are proof that the increased patrols are working.
The “species dependent on nature conservation”
According to the newspaper, while Thailand’s success story gives cause for hope, the prospects for the region are not at all that optimistic. Once widespread in Southeast Asia, tigers became extinct in Singapore, Java, and Bali in the 20th century, and wild animals have also disappeared from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in recent years.
As a result, only a few small, isolated tiger populations have survived in Myanmar, Sumatra in Indonesia, and Peninsular Malaysia, but recent tiger die-offs in Malaysia are worrying conservationists.
Tigers are a “conservation-dependent species” that require ongoing intervention to protect them from the threat of hunting and poaching, said Stuart Chapman, head of WWF’s Tigers Alive initiative. In Southeast Asia, their numbers are so low that they have reached a “tipping point” where accidents, disease or conflict could cause populations to die out, he added.
Every tiger counts, especially when populations are so low that recovery depends on the arrival of additional threats that could potentially wipe them out
Chapman warned.
He says the WEFCOM research is a “historic” moment for the species and shows that “results are possible with good habitat management and healthy prey stocks”. “Thailand, after decades of persistent conservation efforts, has produced this result and it is extraordinary,” he added.
According to the latest DNP survey, there are roughly 179 to 223 adult tigers in the wild in Thailand, compared to 2022 figures when their numbers were estimated to be between 148 and 189.
WEFCOM boasts the majority of the country’s tiger population, but according to WCS, the forest complex is capable of housing up to two thousand tigers. However, according to Jornburom, this depends on factors such as effective protection, availability of prey and community engagement. “We need more technology to help and support rangers on the ground,” he added.
He said he was optimistic that with more patrols and funding, the population could continue to grow in WEFCOM. He expressed hope that other national parks will adopt the model in the future in order to save their tiger population. “I think this is a very inspiring intervention model for other landscapes and protected areas. Not only in Thailand, but also in our neighboring countries,” he concluded.
(Cover photo: Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)
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2024-07-28 19:00:42